Some Poinciana Road Fixes May Take Decades, Residents Told

Published: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 4:16 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 4:16 p.m.

POINCIANA | Residents in this sprawling suburban community feel marooned when it comes to transportation.

There are solutions, a group of residents was told Monday, but some of them may take decades to implement.

"We're essentially an island; the question is, how do you get off and how do you get on?" said Keith Laytham, organizer of Poinciana Residents for Smart Change, which organized the meeting at the Poinciana library.

Residents in the Poinciana area, where the population now totals 84,141, have been more vocal in recent years about traffic problems.

"This meeting is important because it shows Poinciana is on the agenda," said Fernando Valverde, who sported a "Roads Now for Poinciana" button on his shirt.

The current road network is congested every morning and afternoon because of a combination of its design and the fact that the majority of residents commute to jobs outside of Poinciana.

One short-term solution is the construction of the long-planned Poinciana Parkway, a planned toll road through a portion of the Reedy Creek Swamp that is scheduled to begin construction sometime next year, said Atlee Mercer, chairman of the Osceola County Expressway Authority.

The road would connect to U.S. 17-92 at Ronald Reagan Parkway, providing a link to Interstate 4 via County Road 532. That $132 million project is expected to open by July 2015, Mercer said.

But Mercer said there are more roads on the long-range plan in Osceola County.

One includes a spur off the Poinciana Parkway that would connect to State Road 429, the western beltway around the Orlando area.

Mercer said the proposed route goes through Disney property and Disney officials have tentatively offered to contribute $300,000 toward a technical analysis of potential routes for the road.

But that's not the only new road that's being discussed.

The other is a link from Cypress Parkway to the Southport area on the south side of Lake Tohopekaliga and east to Florida's Turnpike before looping north to connect to another planned toll road extension north of U.S. 192 east of St. Cloud, Mercer said.

Mercer said this road system would serve not only Poinciana, but the expected development boom resulting from approved but unbuilt major developments east of Lake Tohopekaliga.

"It's an absolutely justifiable road," he said.

Mercer said before any of these roads can be built, preliminary engineering studies would have to be completed to determine the exact route and to identify any problems or issues.

He said the studies for the two proposed roads are still a few years away.

If those studies conclude the roads are feasible, the next steps would include more detailed engineering plans, right-of-way purchases and construction, which could take at least several more years, depending on how much funding is available.

He said studies show the need for many projects, but they're very expensive and available funds have been decreasing.

Tiffany Hamler, Osceola County's transportation planning coordinator, said Osceola has been looking at not only more roads, but expanding transit and other infrastructure such as the sidewalk network to connect more residents to transit.

"Poinciana has the most transit service in all of Osceola County and they're still begging for more," she said.

[ Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. Read his blog on county government at county.blogs.theledger.com. Follow on Twitter @LedgerTom. ]

<p>POINCIANA | Residents in this sprawling suburban community feel marooned when it comes to transportation.</p><p>There are solutions, a group of residents was told Monday, but some of them may take decades to implement.</p><p>"We're essentially an island; the question is, how do you get off and how do you get on?" said Keith Laytham, organizer of Poinciana Residents for Smart Change, which organized the meeting at the Poinciana library.</p><p>Residents in the Poinciana area, where the population now totals 84,141, have been more vocal in recent years about traffic problems.</p><p>"This meeting is important because it shows Poinciana is on the agenda," said Fernando Valverde, who sported a "Roads Now for Poinciana" button on his shirt. </p><p>The current road network is congested every morning and afternoon because of a combination of its design and the fact that the majority of residents commute to jobs outside of Poinciana.</p><p>One short-term solution is the construction of the long-planned Poinciana Parkway, a planned toll road through a portion of the Reedy Creek Swamp that is scheduled to begin construction sometime next year, said Atlee Mercer, chairman of the Osceola County Expressway Authority.</p><p>The road would connect to U.S. 17-92 at Ronald Reagan Parkway, providing a link to Interstate 4 via County Road 532. That $132 million project is expected to open by July 2015, Mercer said.</p><p>But Mercer said there are more roads on the long-range plan in Osceola County.</p><p>One includes a spur off the Poinciana Parkway that would connect to State Road 429, the western beltway around the Orlando area.</p><p>Mercer said the proposed route goes through Disney property and Disney officials have tentatively offered to contribute $300,000 toward a technical analysis of potential routes for the road.</p><p>But that's not the only new road that's being discussed.</p><p>The other is a link from Cypress Parkway to the Southport area on the south side of Lake Tohopekaliga and east to Florida's Turnpike before looping north to connect to another planned toll road extension north of U.S. 192 east of St. Cloud, Mercer said.</p><p>Mercer said this road system would serve not only Poinciana, but the expected development boom resulting from approved but unbuilt major developments east of Lake Tohopekaliga.</p><p>"It's an absolutely justifiable road," he said.</p><p>Mercer said before any of these roads can be built, preliminary engineering studies would have to be completed to determine the exact route and to identify any problems or issues. </p><p>He said the studies for the two proposed roads are still a few years away.</p><p>If those studies conclude the roads are feasible, the next steps would include more detailed engineering plans, right-of-way purchases and construction, which could take at least several more years, depending on how much funding is available.</p><p>Funding is an issue, said Gary Huttman, deputy executive director for Metroplan Orlando, a regional planning organization covering Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. </p><p>He said studies show the need for many projects, but they're very expensive and available funds have been decreasing.</p><p>Tiffany Hamler, Osceola County's transportation planning coordinator, said Osceola has been looking at not only more roads, but expanding transit and other infrastructure such as the sidewalk network to connect more residents to transit.</p><p>"Poinciana has the most transit service in all of Osceola County and they're still begging for more," she said.</p><p>[ Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. Read his blog on county government at county.blogs.theledger.com. Follow on Twitter @LedgerTom. ]</p>